We are proud to announce our SM River Rats 2024 Travel Softball Program!  This season, we are welcoming our new Director Athena Lavigne. SMRR Softball is going into its seventh year, and with a new director and fresh vision, our program is growing with every season!

Fundamentals:  We offer indoor winter training practices January thru March for all teams.  These practices are all aligned on our key philosophies and drills/techniques.   We will focus on team skill work, pitching & catching and hitting.  All teams will have a minimum of 3 hours of training for 10 weeks.

Teamwork:  We firmly believe that we need to put each player in a position where they can be successful and contribute to the team's success!   We are a TEAM first organization, and each player needs to understand how they contribute to its success.  

Hard Work:  We EXPECT players to work hard to improve their skills.  This includes softball-specific training, getting faster and getting stronger.  We want to emphasize that hard work is what helps you achieve your goals, and you need to work extremely hard to reach them.  

Academics:  Our organization understands that at some point, sports come to an end.  Academics should be the players' first priority and something they work extremely hard to do the best that they can.  We recognize outstanding academic success and talk about the importance of this during our season.  

We strongly feel that we offer the most skill development, games, tournaments, and instruction for our softball players.  Here is a summary of what our program entails.

All Ages:

• Winter Training Program:  Indoor Practices start in January 2024.  These practices are planned to work on hitting, fielding, pitching, catching and all fundamentals needed to improve as a player during the winter months. These practices run from January until the end of March 2024.  
• Spring Scrimmages: Coaches will organize several team scrimmages throughout the spring and early summer to give teams an opportunity to play before heading into tournaments. 
• Tournaments:  All teams are entered into a minimum of three tournaments and a maximum of six.  Tournaments are carefully selected to allow the team to compete with competitive teams and give them the opportunity for success. Our tournaments are spread out through Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and possibly other New England states.  

For the 2024 Travel Season, we will have 2 fundraising events.  One will be "optional" and the other will be "mandatory".

Optional Fundraiser 

We have completed a "Fundraising for Fees" event each season which has helped parents offset some of the tuition costs for the season.  Some parents have raised $500-$700 towards their fees!  This is how it works;

• We organize and run a fundraiser.  Each year, this has typically been with coupon booklets from Maine Athletic Fundraising.
• You decide whether you want to participate and ask for a certain number of booklets to sell.  No worries if you take too much or not enough, you can return them, and we can provide you with more if you are selling them well!
• Each booklet is sold for $10 and the booklets has over $10 in savings from local businesses Examples of booklets from last year was Amatos, Cinemagic and Dunkin Donuts.
• For each booklet that you sell, $5.00 is credited to your tuition!  It is that easy!  

Mandatory Fundraiser

This past year, we created a fundraiser to help offset some of our costs.   We also picked a local charity to benefit from this event and to teach our organization responsibility and how to give back to the community.  This past year, we raised over $30,000 for this event and donated $5,000 to The Ronald McDonald House Charities of Maine and $2,500 each to 2 other non-profit organizations!  This was such a rewarding experience for everyone who took part and we plan to do something similar in 2024.   This event will be announced in the Fall of 2023.  

2024 Tuition Rates                     

Full Season                         Practice Player 

10U-$875                           10U: $525

12U-$950                           12U: $570

14U-$1,000                       14U: $600

16U-$1,100                       16U: $660

**Uniform costs are not included with tuition. **

We will offer several different payment plans to choose from for the 2024 season.  We also offer a 1-2 "Fundraising for Fees" event which is outlined after these payment plans.  The payment plans can be viewed once you are offered and accept a roster spot for the 2024 season.

If any questions on our 2023 Travel Softball Program, please contact Athena Lavigne at;

Email: athenal@smrr.us

Cell:  207-321-8229

All SM River Rats Baseball and Softball Players will have free cage time (30 minutes) at Hitters Count Training Facility in Saco from the moment they accept a roster spot until the season ends!  

Here are just some of the common questions we get asked about our program.

• Are the winter training practices mandatory and is there a penalty for missing them?   Winter training practices are NOT mandatory and there is NO penalty for missing them.  While it is a large part of our program, we understand that families have other commitments including other sports or hobbies.
• Are the games mandatory and is there a penalty for missing them?   Yes, games are mandatory UNLESS the player is missing the game for town league or school baseball.  If a player misses a full doubleheader/tournament for any other reason, they must sit for the first 2 innings of the next games they attend.
• Is there a minimum playing time rule?  Yes, the minimum playing time rule is 50% for all players throughout the season.  A player may come up short during a weekend and the idea is the coach will make that up over the next couple of weeks.  
• Does the minimum playing time rule change for Tournaments and/or Playoffs?  Yes, if a team is playing in a Tournament Finals or playoffs the only guarantee is an appearance.  
• How many games do you play throughout the season?  Our average season is approximately 20 or more games, which include league play and tournaments. Teams may also participate in coach-organized scrimmages that allow for extra games.
• Do games conflict with Town League or School Ball?  For the most part, we try not to interfere with school or town softball for any of our players.  Occasionally, these seasons will overlap; however, it is our intention to allow the players to experience both seasons without burnout.  For our 10-12U teams, we will be taking a break from play during the All-Star season, to allow players the opportunity to enjoy that experience without missing their travel season.